Jack White Praises Beyonce, Teases Fallon & Releases New Video

Jack White is a man of many talents. The singer/songwriter recently released his unplugged collection Jack White Acoustic Recordings 1998-2016 and while promoting the new album he took some time to praise Beyoncé and poke fun at Jimmy Fallon.

In an interview with NPR, White talked about how his collaboration for the Lemonade track “Don’t Hurt Yourself” came together.

“I just talked to her and she said, ‘I wanna be in a band with you,'” he said. “I said, ‘Really? Well, I would love to do something.’ I’ve always loved her voice. I mean, I think she has the kind of soul singing voice of the days of Betty Davis or Aretha Franklin. So, I was really happy to work with her. She took just sort of a sketch of a lyrical outline and turned it into the most bodacious, vicious, incredible song. I don’t even know what you’d classify it as — soul, rock and roll, or whatever it is. ‘Don’t Hurt Yourself’ is incredibly intense; I’m so amazed at what she did with it.”

White was less kind to Jimmy Fallon during an appearance on his show. During a discussion about guitars, Fallon said he plays a Fender Newporter, which is an acoustic guitar fitted with the neck of an electric. White joked that the instrument was “a beginner’s guitar for children.”

As Fallon looked on in disbelief, White rebounded by praising the late night host’s songwriting skills.

“I really like your songwriting and I always have,” he said as Fallon laughed nervously. “No I’m not kidding. I really do.”

White also made his first acoustic television performance with a poignant medley of “Love Is the Truth” and the White Stripes’ “You’ve Got Her in Your Pocket.” Clearly emotional towards the end of the latter, Fallon raved about the performance saying “that was beautiful.”

In addition to his whirlwind of press, White also released a video for “City Lights,” which was originally written for the White Stripes’ 2005 Get Behind Me Satan album but not included. Michel Gondry directed the video which depicts a man in the shower illustrating the song’s lyrics on the glass door.